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In the weighing of the heart ceremony, the heart of the deceased was weighed against a feather, the Feather of Ma'at, the goddess of truth and justice. If the deceased had lived a life of truth and integrity, their heart would be as light as the feather, securing their access to the Field of Dreams. Should the heart of the deceased prove to be heavy with wrongdoing, it would immediately be devoured by Ammut.

Interesting that ancient Egyptians believed that the heart of a person was tested and judged, instead of deeds. It somehow suggests the idea that deeds are actually a mere reflection of the heart.

Let's explore two signs of a unattended heart:

1- We leave our hearts unattended when our self-confidence grows strong enough to take control.

The story we are going to look at is that of the king David. We may remember that he had a special heart. God himself confirmed that when He said "I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do". Notice that God first looks at the heart, and then at what we do!

David's reign had its ups and downs, but when considering its spiritual effect in Israel, one can say it was one of the best. David, like no other, was able to lead Israel into worship.

But something happened, and David left his heart unattended. It was a time when Bathsheba appeared and he got into the darkest time of his life.

It's not a minor detail that the Bible says "but David stayed home", since kings used to go to battle. Perhaps overconfidence?

Three things happened when David left his heart unattended:

- He thinks about things he shouldn’t - his intellect is affected
- He makes wrong decisions - his will gets ill
- He then feels guiltiness - his feelings hurt

After king David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he said a very deep prayer of repentance in Psalms 51. Just a few things to notice:

- David does not promise God he is not going to do that again (we need to hear that in order to forgive, but God doesn't!)
- David does not ask God to help him simply change the way he does things. He goes to the source of it.
- David asks for a new heart. Maybe because he deeply knows that everything we do, flows from it.

David probably taught his son Salomon about some of these things, and that's why we read about it in Proverbs!

2- We leave our hearts unattended when we only focus on our performance (what we do)

What if I am a very good Christian? What does it mean when God uses me?

- I might prophecy (God uses me to speak into people's heart)
- I might pray and demons run away
- I might pray and miracles take place

What do all of that means? When it comes to our heart, not much.

What we do does not surprise God and even does not give us the ticket to heaven. It does not make me a better Christian.

What makes me a better Christian is to have a pure heart. I can be a great preacher and impress people with my messages, but if when I go home I am not a good husband, I am far away from Him!

Why, unlike God, are we impressed by people's success or by people's sins?

That's why we can't see what God sees. He does not look at the things we look. His sight goes through our being and sees things nobody else sees.

The truth is... we don't even know our own hearts! (Jeremiah 17:9)

Practical ideas to protect our heart

- Think about your heart more often!
- Do something that helps your heart.
- To pour out my heart in the presence of the Lord
- To share what is in my heart with friends (spiritual friends)
- To keep it away from anger, rancour, lack of forgiveness, bad thoughts (always think the best about others)
- To keep it safe from getting dirty (through what we see and what we hear)

With the risk of oversimplifying the process, let's look at three major components involved in photography.

1) Ambient light
The scenario where the picture will be taken. Some times photographers can do something to manipulate light and get a better picture (flash, reflectors, etc), but sometimes they are powerless.
Same with the circumstances we face everyday. There are times when we can do something to change our environment, but other times there isn't much we can do.

2) Lens
The means by which light enters the camera. It controls how much light goes through and also where the focus will be.
This would represent our eyes and hears. We choose to focus more in one thing than another, or to hear more one person than another. In our first bible story, David chose to focus on the wrong thing (person).

3) Sensor
This is the heart of a camera. Here is where the light impacts and the image is created. It's important to notice that a dirty sensor will make every picture look dirty. So it must be cleaned regularly! Every picture you see produced by the camera is actually the reflection of its sensor.
This is the deepest level of who we are: our heart. A dirty heart will make everything look dirty around us. Every action, reaction or response ever given by us, is a reflection of the deepest part of who we really are.

Every picture produced by a camera is influenced by many factors, but at the end of the day, it's always a projection of its internal mirror, the sensor.
Every deed done by us might be influenced by many factors, but at the end, what we do is a reflection of our most inner mirror: our hearts.